Below, I share a few thoughts about the novel and its relation to the geopolitical events currently unfolding in the Middle East today. But first let me share three wonderful endorsements I’ve received in recent days from three good friends — Rick Santorum, the former presidential candidate, a true ally of Israel, and a leading expert on Iran and Syria issues from his days in the U.S. Senate; Rush Limbaugh, the nation’s leading radio host with some 20 million listeners, also a great ally of Israel, and someone who I’ll always be grateful for helping to launch my career as a novelist with his support of my first book, The Last Jihad; and Steve Forbes, the editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, global economic thinker and U.S. presidential candidate whom I had the honor of working for as a senior advisor.

“Damascus Countdown will be the most chilling, pulse-pounding thriller you read this year. It will be banned and burned in Tehran and Damascus, but it should be required reading in Washington and Jerusalem. Joel Rosenberg is a good friend and a great writer and he is spot on. Nothing threatens our national security more than the mullahs of Iran and the tyrants in Syria building and deploying weapons of mass annihilation, and an American President who doesn’t have the wisdom or courage to stop them in time. I’ve warned about this for years. Now Joel paints an eerie, terrifying, page-turning picture of a worst-case scenario coming to pass. You have to read this book, and then pray it never happens.”

— Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate

“Joel, thanks so much for sending me a signed copy of Damascus Countdown. Loved getting it. I’d actually already pre-ordered it for my iPad! Just started it and it’s fantastic – intense action, blistering pace, and freaking eerie how close it is to real events in the Mideast, especially with Iran so close to the Bomb and Syria melting down! You’re damn good, Joel. Exceptionally good! You always keeps me riveted, my friend. Keep up the great work!”

— Rush Limbaugh, radio host and #1 New York Times best-selling author

“If there were a Forbes 400 list of great current novelists, Joel Rosenberg would be among the top ten. More than a decade ago we kicked off one of his masterpieces, The Last Jihad, at a book party at the Forbes Media headquarters. Today millions see what we saw then, one of the most entertaining and intriguing authors of international political thrillers in the country. No wonder Joel has sold nearly three million copies – his novels are un-put-downable including his new one, Damascus Countdown!”

— Steve Forbes, editor in chief of Forbes magazine and former presidential candidate.

A few thoughts about the novel: A terrible darkness is settling over the Middle East, and with each day that passes the likelihood of a major war in the Middle East in 2013 that could involve Israel, Iran, and Syria appears to grow. I’m praying earnestly for peace, and I’m grateful that a regional war hasn’t exploded in recent years, even though there have been numerous signs that it might. Still, the eyes of the world are riveted on the epicenter. We’re currently witnessing the slaughter of thousands of innocent civilians by the bloodthirsty regime in Damascus. The U.S. and Israeli governments are warning the regime in Damascus not to use chemical and biological weapons. At the same time, the ayatollahs in Iran are continuing to pursue nuclear weapons. They’re preaching that the end of days has come and that the so-called Islamic messiah known as the Twelfth Imam will be revealed soon to rule the earth. What’s more, Egypt is now being ruled by a radical Muslim dictator. That’s the current reality.

What my novels do is ask what everyone is asking: What if all hell breaks loose? What if these dark trends spin out of control? What would it look like if Israel does, in fact, launch a massive preemptive military strike against Iran? What would the blowback look like as Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas retaliate with tens of thousands of missiles raining down on Israel? What this novel also does is ask, Is it possible that such a horrific war could inadvertently set into motion End Times Bible prophecies, such as the prophecies in Isaiah and Jeremiah that indicate the city of Damascus will one day be utterly and completely wiped off the face of the earth?

Fiction is an interesting art form. Sometimes novels can capture people’s hearts and their imagination in a way that non-fiction books cannot do. Sometimes they can get people to think about “What If?” scenarios — worst-case scenarios — and see how they might play out if our leaders don’t act wisely and decisively in real time. My first novel was released in November 2002. I could not have guessed at the time I would still have the joy of writing books a decade later, and that we would have nearly three million copies in print. But I’m deeply grateful to each and every reader, both here in the U.S. and Canada and around the world, who have found the books both entertaining and thought-provoking. May God bless you and your family.